Tragedy

Memory of Leonard and Debra Sclafani, Stuart Florida

Adam

08 Feb 2026 • 6 min read

Can you tell me what happened in this fatal car accident that occurred in Stuart, Florida at the intersection of SE Monroe St and SE Federal Hwy (US highway 1)
These two Drive Safely signs are in Memory of Leonard and Debra Sclafani. I would like to know more about them as well.
On the back of these two signs is a yellow Florida Department of Transportation sticker that says FDOT SIGN SHOP with holes punched on June 2019. TYPE IV and AVERY also have holes punched in them. What does that mean? Note: XI and 3M do not have holes punched in those parts of the sticker.

ChatGPT said:

Thought for 4m 36s

What happened at SE Monroe St & SE Federal Hwy (US-1)

Based on Florida Highway Patrol’s public summary (via WPTV), the crash was a multi-vehicle collision involving a motorcycle on U.S. 1 just south of SE Monroe Street, just before 10:15 PM on March 30, 2019:

A southbound driver on U.S. 1 hit a stopped Harley-Davidson with two people on it.
The impact threw both riders into the roadway.
A third southbound vehicle then struck the motorcycle’s driver.
The Harley’s operator was identified as 63-year-old Leonard David Sclafani of Stuart, who died at the scene.
The passenger was reported in critical condition at the time, and FHP said the cause remained under investigation.

Who Leonard and Debra Sclafani were (what’s publicly available)

From the funeral home obituary pages:

Leonard David Sclafani (63) — of Stuart; born July 26, 1955 (Brooklyn, NY); died March 30, 2019.
He was married to Debra on Oct 23, 1981 (37 years).
Debra Ann Sclafani (56) — of Stuart; born Aug 23, 1962 (Brooklyn, NY); died April 29, 2019

One important nuance: the initial FHP/WPTV report did not name the passenger. Debra’s obituary also doesn’t explicitly say her death was due to that crash. So it’s possible she was the passenger (timing + matching family), but I can’t honestly claim that as confirmed from the sources above.

If you want the official, definitive “who was the passenger / contributing factors / diagrams,” that comes from the Florida crash report (FHP/FLHSMV). I can tell you how to request the report if you want.

What that FDOT “SIGN SHOP” sticker and the punched holes mean

Those round “DRIVE SAFELY / IN MEMORY …” signs are part of FDOT’s Memorial Marker Program. FDOT describes them as standardized 15" round signs, fabricated by FDOT, and (key detail) the installation date is marked on the back of the sign.

1) The punched month/year = when the sign was made/installed (tracking)

On the sticker style you photographed, the holes around the edges are a common “punch-code” for month and year tracking. Your reading of June 2019 fits how these are typically encoded:

The “month ring” (letters down the sides) gets a hole at the relevant month.
The “year row” (numbers across the top) gets a hole at the relevant year.

That matches FDOT’s requirement that the installation date be marked on the back.

2) TYPE IV vs XI = the reflective sheeting performance grade used

“TYPE IV” and “TYPE XI” refer to ASTM D4956 retroreflective sheeting classes used on traffic signs.

Type IV is commonly referred to as High-Intensity Prismatic sheeting.
Type XI is a higher-performance, very bright microprismatic grade (often used where maximum nighttime visibility is desired).

Because your sticker shows a hole punched at “IV” and no hole at “XI,” it indicates this sign used Type IV sheeting, not Type XI.

3) AVERY vs 3M = which manufacturer’s sheeting was used

Those are the two major brands of reflective sign sheeting:

3M makes Type IV and Type XI products.
Avery Dennison also makes traffic sign sheeting across spec types.

Your sticker shows a hole punched at “AVERY” and no hole at “3M,” meaning the reflective film on these signs was Avery Dennison (not 3M).

So, decoded:

Installed/processed: June 2019
Sheeting type: ASTM Type IV
Manufacturer: Avery Dennison
(Not Type XI, not 3M)

If you want, I can also help you pull the official crash report (the cleanest way to answer “exactly what happened” beyond the short news summary) and explain how to read the key fields once you have it.

You said:

I would like you to help pull the official crash report

ChatGPT said:

Thought for 1m 5s

Yep. The clean, “official” way in Florida is the FLHSMV Florida Crash Portal (it’s the state repository for law-enforcement crash reports).

Fastest way: buy it online (Florida Crash Portal)

Open the official portal
Florida’s Official Crash Portal:
https://www.flhsmv.gov/traffic-crash-reports
https://services.flhsmv.gov/crashreportpurchasing
Read the eligibility warning carefully
The portal makes you certify you’re allowed to obtain the report. It also warns it’s a felony to try to obtain confidential info you’re not entitled to.
Search using what we already know (use ALL the identifiers you can)
Use these fields when the portal asks:

Crash date: 03/30/2019
County: Martin
City/area: Stuart
Location keywords: “SE Federal Hwy / US-1” and “SE Monroe St”
Name: Sclafani (Leonard; possibly Debra in associated fields)

If the portal gives you an option for agency/case # and you don’t have it, that’s okay—start with date + county + last name + location and narrow from there.

Pay + download

Cost: $10 per report + $2 convenience fee per transaction.
After purchase, it’s available immediately and you must download within 48 hours (link emailed; ZIP containing PDFs).

If online search doesn’t find it: request by mail or in person (official)

FLHSMV’s own page says you can request crash records by mail or at an FHP Troop Station (10 or fewer records).

Option A — Mail request to FLHSMV Crash Records

Fill out HSMV Form 94010 (Sworn Statement / DPPA Certification)
Form: https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/94010.pdf
For a 2019 crash, you’ll generally be using Section Two (DPPA Certification) on page 2.
Mail it with payment to:
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
Crash Records
2900 Apalachee Parkway, MS 28
Tallahassee, FL 32399

FLHSMV notes mailed processing can take 4–6 weeks.

Option B — In-person at an FHP Troop Station (≤10 reports)

FLHSMV says requests for 10 or fewer may be fulfilled at the nearest FHP Troop Station to where the crash occurred.

Quick heads-up if you plan to write about it publicly

Even if you obtain the report, Florida/DPPA rules are strict about personal info (addresses, phone numbers, DL numbers, DOB, etc.). The portal explicitly warns about confidentiality and penalties.
If your intent is a safety post (not solicitation), keep it focused on roadway safety and redact personal identifiers.

Tell me what you see and I’ll guide the exact clicks

When you get to the portal’s Search step, paste here:

what search fields it’s asking for, and
whether it offers “date/county/name” vs “report # / case #”

…and I’ll tell you exactly what to enter to maximize your chance of pulling the correct report on the first try.